Blood Flower Welcoming the Moon in the Sky

The colors gradually became richer, and the murky future began to come into clear view.

Arima Shizuya's nosebleed would not stop. His breathing had grown ragged, and the excessive strain on his spiritual pressure had caused obvious discomfort throughout his body.

Many possible futures in which he could "dodge" had already appeared, but Arima Shizuya was merely keeping them in reserve for now.

After all, he definitely could not win by dodging forever.

Like a bird cornered by a giant python at the mouth of its nest... struggling, dodging, and screaming blindly would ultimately only waste its strength.

He had to make the opponent bleed. Make him suffer injuries.

That was the correct approach, and one of the few chances he had to turn things around.

Guiganjo was a captain-class fighter. Though he had gained that position through something akin to cheating, by exploiting a loophole... there was no doubting his strength.

He was the strongest opponent Arima Shizuya had faced so far.

But even so, even then!

That absolutely did not mean he had no chance at all.

So...

Where was it? Where was the future in which he could counterattack and injure his opponent?

Arima Shizuya clenched his teeth hard. His eyes became bloodshot, and even his heartbeat was magnified without end, roaring like an engine.

Finally.

Among those boundless, endless "futures," he found the one and only path of counterattack remaining.

Unlike any route he had glimpsed before, this phantom image was tinged with scarlet, giving off a chilling aura.

The Mobius Ring still had not come undone.

The future remained riddled with danger.

But there was no other way now. He could only do this! In his haze, Arima Shizuya seemed to hear Aizen's voice echoing beside his ear.

—Arima Shizuya, this is a battle for survival.

Things had come to this.

There was only one thing left to do: fight!

A soft whoosh sounded... Time, which had been frozen in place, was like rusted gears beginning to grind and turn with difficulty.

The insignificant thing that had bound and halted time was completely crushed at this moment.

Arima Shizuya had no way back.

Amid the shattered layers, the boy's gaze turned coldly upward.

His breathing gradually steadied. The strength around his body dispersed completely, yet it sent Arima Shizuya plummeting from the ruins...

The boy hit the ground miserably and coughed up a mouthful of blood, yet his expression became incomparably grave.

He mobilized every last trace of spiritual pressure.

He turned his body into a soaked towel, twisting and wringing it until not a single drop remained.

Focus it all on one point, then unleash it.

Whoosh... The wind suddenly rose, and a pillar of light appeared.

Spiritual pressure so dense it could take tangible form surged skyward in an Azure Blue Torrent.

Holding nothing back, he erupted with all his strength.

The spiritual pressure surged upward in reverse, utterly demolishing the already battered shop.

The sky!

Dusk had nearly arrived, and wavering stars filled it.

At the juncture where neither sun nor moon remained, Arima Shizuya became a radiant presence that seemed capable of taking their place.

"What... is that?"

"N-Never seen anything like it."

Those who currying favor with the powerful were the worst at reading the situation. Faced with something they could not understand, they could only show fear and retreat.

Guiganjo, meanwhile, wore an utterly disdainful expression.

"What a bunch of trash... It's just spiritual pressure with an unusually high density. You've only never seen it before, and it scares you into this state?"

Dragging his feet, Guiganjo's lips curled as he muttered for a moment.

Then he gave a faint, almost nonexistent sneer.

There were many forms of battle between Shinigami.

Swordsmanship, hand-to-hand combat, footwork, Kido... There was a reason the Four Great Basic Skills were taught at the Academy.

But at the end of the day, battles between Shinigami were collisions between souls.

Therefore.

"Spiritual Might is what matters most, brat."

Guiganjo spoke frivolously and took a step forward.

Energy powerful enough to distort the air gathered overhead. The Eleventh Division members let out cries of anguish, but before they could say anything, they were directly knocked unconscious by the pressure.

It was as though an invisible sun were slowly rising.

Guiganjo Kenpachi smiled as though victory were already in his grasp.

Third-Class Spiritual Pressure!

It was power sufficient to kill ordinary vagrants like maggots. Even well-trained division members nearby would still lose consciousness uncontrollably.

This was Guiganjo's greatest source of confidence, and the reason for his arrogance.

And what could you do? Your appearance was somewhat strange, but in the end, you were only at the seventh... no, probably Sixth Level Spiritual Pressure.

"A mere seated officer's level, and you dare raise a hand against me?"

Since he had decided to use spiritual pressure, he should finish this quickly—if he drew the attention of some unnecessary people, Head Captain Yamamoto would surely reprimand him later.

So die.

Muscles knotted like steel cables swelled and bulged! Guiganjo gripped his Zanpakuto and casually swung it at Arima Shizuya.

BOOM!!! In an instant, sand and stones whirled into the air as gale-force winds surged skyward. Guiganjo's slash seemed to split the air itself as it swept toward Arima Shizuya.

It was coming.

Was this the attack of a captain-class fighter, wrapped in killing intent and driven by Spiritual Might?

It truly was shocking. It even made Arima Shizuya's body tremble uncontrollably.

But...

This had been expected.

With a soft swish.

The boy turned sideways, lowered his body, and sheathed his blade.

The cycle of inhaling and exhaling was completed in an instant. Arima Shizuya's bent legs kicked out like a spring compressed to its limit and finally released.

Arima Shizuya's body vanished, replaced by lightning that flashed through the air as always.

Not bad.

Guiganjo watched as the blade aura he had unleashed was cleanly split down the middle. A blurred figure flashed through it—it was Arima Shizuya, drenched in blood! Breaking through the fierce assault of a captain-class fighter had never been easy.

The price was the wounds now tearing him apart...

Arima Shizuya's face was covered in crisscrossing gashes. His left eye had been cut open and was forced shut.

But that was as far as it went.

Guiganjo turned his blade, and the second wave of slashes had already arrived silently—he could unleash hundreds of attacks of this level without the slightest interval.

Blade light flickered, its edge flashing.

The figure before him was visibly cut clean in half at the waist.

Yet in the next moment, Guiganjo could not help but frown... This again.

The feel was wrong.

The instant his awareness settled, the figure vanished.

In its place was a Shinigami Uniform, completely sliced into two halves.

What was this? "This is the third form of Stealth Step: Four Maple, Empty Cicada."

If he survived, he would have to thank Yoruichi Shihouin somehow.

Thanks to this.

Arima Shizuya had finally entered his optimal attack range.

Holding his breath and focusing his mind, he raised his Zanpakuto over his head. As Guiganjo turned his gaze toward him in astonishment, Arima Shizuya roared and brought down his long blade.

PFFT! Brilliant blood flowers greeted the moon in the sky.

Savage and twisted.